Marcus Wood

Great news on our Casino bid which -despite the soothsaying from our resident Lib Dem MP- has been accepted.

Bizarrely for a Liberal, the MP now opposes having a casino here because he thinks people cannot be trusted to gamble responsibly and they will immediately bet the farm (or should I say, the hotel) on the spin of the dice. Mmmm.

One reason I am so pleased about this is not just the immediate potential benefit of having a high-profile Casino as an attraction but also the knock-on this will have to other businesses and inward investment.

Such a public display of confidence in the Bay is surely hugely comforting to investors in other businesses; and I am thinking here of proposals like the £50m rebuilding of the Imperial Hotel, the £100m redevelopment of Goodringtons beach and water park, the proposal to build a cruise liner mooring dock in Torquay and the Northern Arm project in Brixham; all of which will require considerable private investment if they are to become a reality.

Business investors can't help being a little sheep-like - if one goes they all go. In our case this is one big -huge -step in the right direction.

Nick Bye, the team from the Town Hall and especially the Torbay Development Agency are to be congratulated.